Dec. 28, 2006 - Stora Enso said it will invest EUR 54.8 million to rebuild a fine paper machine, PM 3, at its Varkaus Mill in Finland.

The project is designed to improve the efficiency of the machine, Stora Enso said.

In November, the company permanently shut PM 1 at the Varkaus Mill, which had an annual capacity of 95,000 tonnes of single-coated fine paper.

The closure of PM 1 has made the rebuild project possible, Stora Enso said

The upgrade to PM 3 will increase the mill's annual production capacity by about 95,000 tonnes to 315,000 tonnes of uncoated fine paper, but the number of personnel will not increase.

Upon completetion of the project, envelope paper production will be transferred from the company's Veitsiluoto Mill to Varkaus Mill, allowing Veitsiluoto Mill to specialize in the production of document printing paper. Production of writing paper will be transferred from Varkaus Mill to Imatra Mills, Stora Enso added.

"Varkaus Mill is a fully integrated mill located close to good fiber resources. Through this investment we can improve the fine paper mill's future competitiveness and strengthen its position in the division's asset portfolio," said Pekka Laaksonen, SEVP, Stora Enso Fine Paper.

The company expects the project to be completed in December 2007.

The Varkaus Mill produces fine paper, directory paper, newsprint and coreboard on three paper machines and one board machine with a total annual capacity of about 620,000 tonnes of paper and board, plus 345,000 m3 of sawn wood products.